Charge of 'Kenyan, Anti-Colonial' Obama Draws Wide Criticism

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has called an article
by Forbes's Dinesh D'Souza the "most profound insight I have read in the
last six years about Barack Obama." Gingrich summarized, "What if
[Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand
Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his
actions]? That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior."
The racially charged comment and D'Souza's similarly provocative
article are generating controversy and criticism. Here's what people are
saying.

Anti-Colonial Obama Forbes's Dinesh D'Souza writes,
"Barack Obama is the most antibusiness president in a generation,
perhaps in American history. ... The real problem with Obama is
worse--much worse. But we have been blinded to his real agenda because,
across the political spectrum, we all seek to fit him into some version
of American history. In the process, we ignore Obama's own history. Here
is a man who spent his formative years--the first 17 years of his
life--off the American mainland, in Hawaii, Indonesia and Pakistan, with
multiple subsequent journeys to Africa." It all goes back to Obama's
Kenyan father. "To his son, the elder Obama represented a great and
noble cause, the cause of anticolonialism."

Full of Dishonesty, Lazy Thinking Slate's David Weigel points
to D'Souza's claim that Obama supported offshore drilling in Brazil but
not the U.S. because "he wants neocolonial America to have less and the
former colonized countries to have more." Weigel counters that the
Brazil approval came from the Export-Import Bank full of Bush
appointees, that the offshore funding was from private investment, and
that D'Souza's mistake likely originated with a similarly "bogus" Glenn
Beck segment. Weigel writes, "I've read much of D'Souza's upcoming book,
from which this article was adapted, and this is not the only lazy
error. It's a revealing one, however, demonstrating just how eager he is
to find 'aha!' moments of Obama's alleged 'anti-colonial' politics.
He's so eager that he doesn't have time to check the facts."

Worrying Trend in Conservative Discourse The American Conservative's Daniel Larison calls this
"possibly the most ridiculous piece of Obama analysis yet written." He
writes, "Considering how atrocious D’Souza’s argument is, why spend any
time answering it? For one thing, when nonsense like this isn’t
countered it tends to gain traction. Another reason is that conservative
pundits and writers such as D’Souza have been indulging in so much
evidence-free, ideological babbling for the last two years that many of
them now seem convinced that this babbling is actually extremely
serious, insightful commentary. If we are going to have anything
remotely resembling an honest or informed debate over foreign policy or
anything else during the remainder of Obama’s time in office, arguments
like this one have to be knocked down."

Obama Derangement Syndrome Reason's Tim Cavanaugh sighs,
"Obama Derangement Syndrome has now produced a strain as
brain-devouring as Bush Derangement Syndrome was. ... There is no
evidence for the claim that the elder Obama bequeathed his son a
coherent or even a partial political philosophy. ... There's no need to
go to Kenya for the kind of indoctrination into Frantz Fanon and
socialism D'Souza describes: It was widely available at Occidental and
Columbia."

Gingrich Blowing Birther Dogwhistles Politics Daily's David Gibson writes,
"Gingrich retains his penchant for the pungent quotation, and lately
has ramped up his visibility and quotability on such issues as the
controversial Islamic center proposed near Ground Zero. Gingrich's
latest comments also hit hot buttons about Obama's African heritage (his
mother was from Kansas) and whether he is a socialist, and play to
suspicions among many -- especially conservatives -- about whether he
was born in the United States (he was) and whether he is a Muslim (he is
not) or a Christian, as Obama has been all his adult life."

Low Point for Gingrich White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told ABC News, "I
think Newt Gingrich knows that he's trying to appeal to the fringe of
people that don't believe the president was born in this country. You
would normally expect better from somebody who held the position of
speaker of the House. But, look, it's political season. And most
people'll say anything. And Newt Gingrich does that on a genuinely, on a
regular basis." Libertarian blogger Doug Mataconis writes, "I
can honestly think of only one reason for Gingrich and D’Souza to say
stuff like this. It’s not racism per se so much as it is a desire to
feed into the idea that Barack Obama is not a real American. Why else
emphasize his ties to a country he’s only visited twice in his entire
life and to an era of history that most Americans have no connection to
at this point ? It’s cheap, and it’s cynical. In other words, classic
Newt Gingrich. If this is what we can look forward to if he runs for
President, I hope
it’s a very short run."

fact that people feel need to actually engage d'souza is proof that if the day ends in y we'll talk about whatever conservatives want us toless than a minute ago via TweetDeckAtriosAtrios

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